abortion restrictions

September 30, 2014 marks the 38th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, which passed in 1976. A direct response to the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion just three years earlier, the Hyde Amendment was the first of many restrictions on abortion, and denied Medicaid patients the right to an abortion. Later restrictions followed: federal employees, U.S. military personnel and their families, Peace Corps volunteers, Indian Health Service recipients, federal prisoners, and people with disabilities covered by Medicare — all denied abortion coverage.

The intent of the Hyde Amendment is to make it more difficult for low-income women to get the abortions they need. It is the backdrop to all abortion funds. It is the backdrop to our stories.

While this September marks another sad anniversary of the restrictive Hyde Amendment, ACCESS Women’s Health Justice in Oakland, Calilfornia will be doing what they've been doing since 1993: helping women get the care they need without delay. From a small group of volunteer clinic escorts, this fund has grown into a national reproductive justice powerhouse.

In response to drastic limits on abortion access resulting from last summer's disastrous bills in Texas, abortion funds on the ground mobilized immediately. This ongoing crisis has actually produced new abortion funds, including practical support networks that help with travel, shelter, and other logistics. We have been working closely with people in affected areas to help these emerging funds coordinate efforts, and we've offered assistance in multiple ways so that as clinics close, barriers multiply, and expenses increase far beyond what is feasible, volunteers and agencies are prepared to direct women to resources.

But even as abortion fund activists work to meet the needs of women traveling ever farther distances to get an abortion in Texas, a wave of copycat restrictions is rolling over neighboring states, threatening to close most of the few remaining clinics in neighboring states.

Sarah and her husband live in Texas. When she was 19 weeks pregnant, they received the devastating news that their baby had a brain condition that meant it would likely not survive birth. Moreover, because of the ban that went into effect last fall, they had only a week to find a doctor who could help them with their impossible choice. Sarah's own doctor was not able to help: "We don't do that here," he told her. In the end, they had no choice at all: they had to leave the state for an abortion.

Last month, in a move sure to hurt low-income women in the largest US state, Alaska's Lieutenant Governor filed rules that would eliminate most Medicaid coverage of abortion. Alaska is one of only 15 states that currently covers abortion as part of pregnancy care under state Medicaid.

On January 29, Planned Parenthood sued the Alaska state health commissioner over the new rules, stating:

Here’s another reason to be inspired by abortion fund activists: while Texas legislators are restricting access to abortion, abortion funds and other grassroots groups have been working harder than ever to help people get the care they want and need.

On January 17-19, 2014, the National Network of Abortion Funds hosted the Texas Practical Support Convening, bringing together clinics, abortion funds, practical support groups, abortion doulas, lawyers, and community organizers. The Convening was the result of months of planning set into action when Texas passed far-reaching restrictions in the summer of 2013 which have already resulted in clinic closures, leaving residents in some areas of the state with no options at all.

41 years after the Supreme Court affirmed the right to an abortion, what's the reality? National Network of Abortion Funds Executive Director Stephanie Poggi joined Texas abortion fund activists and abortion providers on Twitter to talk about what abortion access looks like on the ground in 2014:

Every year, politicians in Congress use our nation’s budget process to deny coverage of abortion for women who get their insurance or health care through the federal government.

Now some politicians want to make those restrictions even harsher – and permanent – through HR 7, the so-called "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act."

HR 7 would permanently codify the punitive Hyde Amendment that denies Medicaid-eligible women their right to an abortion and withhold all federal insurance coverage of abortion, putting it out of reach for many. Denying Medicaid coverage of abortion forces one in four poor women to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.

In a move sure to have devastating effects on low-income Alaska residents, the state is set to begin restricting Medicaid coverage of abortion as of February 2. Currently, only 15 states cover abortion with state Medicaid funding; if these restrictions go into effect as expected, that number will drop to 14.

Alaska is a state twice the size of Texas and only has 8 abortion providers. Simply getting an appointment can be a logistical puzzle that results in expensive delays for treatment, and with so few providers covering such a vast area, women often need to book a flight to get an abortion, increasing their costs.

Eliminating coverage for abortion will further reduce access for women who are already struggling to make ends meet.